Does Excessive Caffeine Affect Your Breasts?

Connections between caffeine intake and breast disease have been the subject of several studies. Excessive caffeine intake is defined as 800 mg of caffeine or more per day, according to MedlinePlus. One cup of regular coffee contains about 80 mg of caffeine. Caffeine is also found naturally in most tea, cola and chocolate. It is sometimes added to over-the-counter pain relievers and cold medications.

Caffeine and Breast Cysts

Although caffeine doesn't cause breast cysts directly, excessive caffeine intake may cause your body to produce more reproductive hormones, which can lead to the formation of breast cysts accompanied by breast pain or discomfort, Sandhya Pruthi, M.D, an internist specializing in breast diseases and women's health, explains on MayoClinic.com.

Preventing Breast Disease

If you have fibrocystic breast disease, eliminating caffeine from your diet may cause your breast tenderness and pain to decrease, but eliminating caffeine will not necessarily prevent you from developing fibrocystic breast disease in the first place, notes Carol Scott-Connor, M.D., of the Department of Surgery at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Benefit of Eliminating Caffeine

If you have fibrocystic breast disease and you eliminate regular coffee, tea, chocolate and soda pop from your diet for at least two months, your breast cysts may decrease in size, according to Elizabeth Wende Breast Care, LLC, one of the largest freestanding breast imaging centers in the U.S. You may even need to stop drinking decaffeinated coffee and tea and to drink only herbal teas or caffeine-free sodas. Decaffeinated coffee and tea may still contain as much 10 percent of their original caffeine content.

Caffeine and Breast Cancer Risk

Your caffeine intake is not related to your overall risk of developing breast cancer, according to American Cancer Society. However, in a study published in the October 2008 "Archives of Internal Medicine," researchers noted what they described as a "borderline significant positive association" between drinking 4 or more cups of regular coffee per day and developing breast cancer among women who already had a history of benign breast disease.